Deeply entrenched cultural, tribal, and religious norms are at the root of the risks posed to Pakistani women. Child marriage and forced marriage are a threat. Women who defy expectations have faced acid attacks as well as punishment by stoning, gender experts told TrustLaw.
Indeed, more than 1,000 females die in honor killings every year, Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission reports, and 90 percent of women are victims of domestic violence at some point. There is no such thing as marital rape in Pakistani law; five of the six men convicted in a high-profile gang rape case were acquitted earlier this year.
"Pakistani women are left with little, if any, protection from violence and discrimination," said Noreen Haider, chairperson of the Madadgar Trust for Research and Development in Pakistan, to TrustLaw.
"In addition to Pakistani laws being discriminatory, the judicial system condones and exacerbates the problem by failing to view violence against women as a serious violation of women’s human rights."
